newzealand

*Main New Zealand Facts*

Capital: Wellington
Official Language: English and Maori
Religion: Anglican
Currency: New Zealand Dollar
Population: 3,993,817 (July 2004)
Total Area: 268,680 sqaure kilometers
Geographic Coordinates: 41 S, 174 E

*Geography*

    New Zealand is situated in the south Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia. The country comprises of two main islands, the North Island, the South Island, and some smaller islands. (Stewart Island off South Island, the Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands). Dependencies of New Zealand are Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency in Antarctica.
     Regions of New Zealand includes Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo, Wanganui, Wairarapa, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch, Canterbury, Queenstown, Dunedin, and Southland.
     New Zealand is mountainous throughtout the North and South Islands.The South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps while North Island has coastal plains and hills.
     The climate is temperate with regional variations (sub-tropical in the north to subarctic in the higher elevations of South Island). There is volcanic activity in the region.

*Environment*

    The environment of New Zealand is varied: fjords, beaches, rivers, lakes, mountains, glaciers, grasslands, and forests.
     New Zealand is geographically isolated and as a result is home to some very different species of flora and fauna. The forests cover over a quarter of the land. Trees include kauri pine, rimu, manuka (tea-tree), and totara. Other flora are ferns, the golden kowhai, and the scarlet pohutukaw.
     New Zealand is the home of various flightless birds including penguins on Stewart Island. A reptilian prehistoric survivor, the tuatara, is a primitive creature living in New Zealand which has hardly evolved for millions of years.
     Conservation is a priority of New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment- there are thirteen National Parks. Environmental issues include deforestation, soil erosion, and the problems caused by the introduction of species such as deer, pigs, goats, and rabbits from outside the island.

Home

*History*

    When Europeans arrived in New Zealand, the country was inhabited by the Maoris (and the Moriori in the Chatham Islands) who had migrated from Polynesia.
     The first European to arrive in New Zealand was Abel Tasman, a Dutchman (1642). Over a hundred years later in 1769, the English Captain, James Cook, claimed the islands for Britian.
     The first settlers in New Zealand came to hunt whales and seals. These hunters were followed by other traders and missionaries. In England, the New Zealand Company was formed to organize planned settlements.
     The early settlers came into conflict with the Maori people and in 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed which extended British rule and confirmed Maori land rights. However hostilities between the Maoris and the settlers continued into the 1870s.
     In 1852, New Zealand became self-governing. More British migrants arrived and in the 1860s, gold was discovered in South Island and thousands of prospectors arrived from Australia and California forging a new economy with the expansion of transport, industry, and commerce.
     The timber and wool trade were important to the development of New Zealand, and in 1882 the first refrigerated ship left New Zealdn for Europe which led to large exports of meat.
     New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907. Ties with Britain remained strong and the New Zealand armed forces (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) fought with Britain in the Boer War (1899-1902), World War I, and World War II.
     New Zealand became fully independent after World War II.

*Economy*

    Historically New Zealand was an agrarian economy dependent on the UK market. When the UK joined the EU in 1973, imports from New Zealand were restricted.
     The New Zealand economy needed reconstructing to move towards a more industrialized economy. Today, farms are highly merchanised, industry has expanded, and the service sector has taken a prominent role in the country's economic life.
     Agricultural products include lamb, wool, beef, dairy products, wheat, barley, oats, maize, potatoes, pulses, fruits (apples, citrus fruits, and soft fruits including the kiwi fruit), grapes, and vegetables.
     Coal is a significant natural resource. Other resources are natural gas, iron ore, sand, hydropower, gold, limestone, and marble. New Zealand needs to import petroleum supplies.
     Forestry and fishing are major industries. Other induestries are the production of paper products, furniture, food-processing, electronics, machinery, motor vehicle assembly, shipbuilding (small crafts), aircraft manufacture, wool-milling, textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods.
     In the service sector, banking and insurance are important to the economy and tourism is a major earner of foreign currency.

New Zealand Page 2